


Retraction and Attraction

by huntinghunter



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bickering, Eventually smut...?, I'm shit at writing romance, M/M, Wizard AU, mild swearing, mild violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2017-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-16 19:45:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8115148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huntinghunter/pseuds/huntinghunter
Summary: Basically this fanficiton is based off of these Wizard AU headcanons from sweatpeamomote http://sweetpeamomote.tumblr.com/post/149678676923/voltron-wizardau-headcanonsas well as her comichttp://sweetpeamomote.tumblr.com/post/149519104908/klance-wizard-au-the-first-time-we-metI have asked permission from her to use these and she has been with me through the writing and editing process of this fic. If you check out her tumblr she said she'd try to draw something for each chapter the day it's posted, she's a very good artist and I recommend you go check out her stuff. Welp.... This is a weird ass summary, but I hope you like story. Read to find out what's in it (cause I suck at summaries).
 
(P.S. Thank you [name of my best friend] for helping me pick out a title for this fic. I have given you credit, ares you happy? I love you.)





	1. Prologue

Air, Water, Fire, Earth, Light and Darkness. You don’t have a choice as to which element you get, you’re born into one. A mark will appear on the skin to show which element you belong to. Those born into the air element with have a yellow mark, usually spaced slightly with ovals in different sun looking shapes. Earth elemented marks are usually the largest, spaced out like roots and a light green in color. Water elemented marks are a bright sky blue, medium in size and consisting of mostly small circles and thick lines. Those who are fire elemented have dark blood red marks, usually the smallest out of all the elements, and are made up with jagged lines and lightning like shapes. Light element marks are white, shaped to look like flowing air waves. There is only one person with the Darkness element, and his name is Zarkon. He tampered with his fire mark which caused his skin to turn a dark grey and a new, dangerous, power emerged.

Because of how deadly Zarkon’s powers were, the Light tribe cast him out to the edges of the forest in which all the elements lived. Angered, Zarkon teamed up with the Fire tribe, giving them a new name, “Galra”, to start the rebellion before they revolted against the Light tribe. They succeeded in killing almost all the Light wizards, except for 3: The King, Queen, and their little boy Coran. Earth, Water, and Air watched the destruction in horror before deciding to join forces with the royals. With all four elements teamed up - or what was left of the Light tribe - they successfully defeated and exiled Zarkon and the Galra.

After the war, the Royal family was then sworn protection from the three tribes, since Light tended to live longer than all the other elements. The King immediately built a school - naming it after himself - to celebrate the joined tribes, and so they could all live in harmony in case the Galra decided to strike again. He hand carved the door all by himself into a blue wood found only on the bottom of the ocean. It took a whole day to raise the massive door into it’s place in the biggest and oldest oak tree right on the edge of the highest cliff. It’s roots so big they reach out of the ground, spreading on for what seemed like miles and down the sides of the massive cliff. The king thought to use those roots as bridges to reach the door. When entering past the main door, the roots inside spiral down in intricate weaves and loops leading to the lobby of the academy. Earth wizards moved some of the roots to the sides, creating a fairly large opening into a lobby of sorts.

The lobby was very open despite being underground, with polished stone floors and a high ceiling. In the middle of the lobby stood a medium-sized cherry tree, its flowers always in bloom and it’s trunk almost a dark navy blue. The ceiling just above the tree was removed to let the sunlight surround the tree, almost like a light case. Wind always blew through its’ flowers, every now and then sending a petal or two flying around the room. Water gushed openly from certain holes along the trunk of the tree. It was the perfect centerpiece to signify the unity of all four elements. Behind the tree sat five different archways, four of them representing the elements, and one specifically meant as a training/medical arch. Behind these arches and up a tunnel of steps, lie different ecosystems for the elements so all the wizards could live in the comfort of their elements to replenish themselves at the end of the day. Though all the elements had different arches, their ecosystems were joined together so it could be easy for a wizard to visit the other elements homes.

Earth wizards named their home Terra. Their ecosystem took up the largest part of the academy, it being a really dense forest made up of low trees and small streams. Earth wizards built their homes in the branches, creating almost a city in the canopies. Unda, or what the Water wizards call their ecosystem, was filled with rapids and pools of all different shapes and depths. The small pools were separated by large dark boulders in which the Water wizards made their homes out of. The Air ecosystem was named Aerius, it being the hardest for the other elements to visit seeing as they lived on floating islands above the Terra and Unda. To help the other wizards, rope bridges were created between the different islands as well as advanced pulley systems to carry a small group of wizards up. These islands were mostly covered in open valleys, small streams, and with several groups of trees. The Air wizards made their houses from logs gathered from outside of the academy. The training and medical ecosystem was called Lorem, consisting of numerous clusters of trees. Each cluster represented either a rank or medical needs. These trees were tall, with staircases wrapping around the trunk leading all the way up to the canopy. Their railings were decorated with coordinated colored stones to represent either rank or medical. The Light ecosystem stood in line with Aerius, with a long white bridge through the middle of Terra to lead to a huge white castle. This castle had different towers, decorated with light blue energy stones. Everyone called the castle Altea.

These ecosystems, connected and intertwined in some way, helped the wizards get to know and work with the other elements. The king wanted this, so that not only can the wizards strengthen their own powers, but get even more strength from working with the other elements they’re not accustomed too. The king wanted to protect the academy, but he couldn’t do it by himself. He wanted some wizards to be elected as guards and soldiers for a possible upcoming battle against the Galra. However, you weren’t allowed to fight the battle until you reached a certain rank.

There are 7 ranks all together, named after their old magic language, each having their own individual color. To tell which rank you were, you got a stone of the color matching the rank for identification. Each three person group leveled up together, so these groups didn’t split up the dynamic they had gotten used too. It didn’t matter what you did with the stone once received, just if you had it on your person at all times. The first rank is a black colored stone, named Burthr meaning birth. The second rank is Fëon, also known as flower represented by a light purple colored stone. Skölir, or shield, is the third rank with a green colored stone. Sverd, or sword, is represented by a yellow colored stone for the fourth rank. The fifth rank named Varda as in guard, is depicted by a red colored stone. This is the rank in which you can begin training to be a palace guard. The sixth rank, or Skulbaba as in dragon, is a blue colored stone. In this rank, those who have been training to become guards can then branch out and train to be soldiers. The final rank is a clear colored stone, named Paladin for leader.

A few years after the school was completely finished, the Queen happily announced she was pregnant. The tribes rejoiced with the news, throwing a huge celebration that lasted for at least a week. Although a month before the birth of the baby, a Galra wizard snuck into the castle and managed to poison the Queen in hopes of killing her and the baby. However, the Queen was very strong and managed to hold out long enough to give birth to a beautiful baby girl, in which she named Allura. The Queen died a few minutes later, after naming her daughter. The King was quick to fall into a pit of despair, and passed a few years later. Coran, at the young age of 16, was crowned King. Hundreds of years passed by until Allura was old enough - in Coran’s eyes - to start strategizing their armies. The Galra was beginning to make a move once more and there was only one person who could stop them.


	2. First Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ^^ Here's the first official chapter of Retraction and Attraction!! I hope you all like it! 
> 
>    
> P.S. Here's the comic for this chapter:
> 
> http://sweetpeamomote.tumblr.com/post/151248911173/vld-retraction-and-attraction-chapter-1-first
> 
>  
> 
> Loves~~

Lance sighs for the billionth time that day, following behind Pidge and Hunk into the entrance of Alfur Academy. Pidge rolls her eyes behind her glasses, throwing her arms up before whipping around and shoving the end of her staff towards Lance. Her orb lights up between the tiny string and flowers that hold it to the split top, her eyes glowing the same green as her orb. “Lance! Stop sighing already! You haven’t stopped since we left this morning and I’m about ready to sprout weeds through your mouth and nose!” Pidge shouts, catching the attention of a few guards. Lance holds his hands up in defense, his grip tightening on his own staff that’s wood curves over his light blue orb. Hunk places a gentle hand on Pidge’s staff, a gentle smile on his face.

“Pidge, there’s no reason to turn Lance into a flower bed. Put your staff down,” Hunk says in a level voice. But of course, Lance has to push her buttons just as she is about to give in.

“Do you wanna go, Pidge? Well, let’s go!” Lance whoops, “It’ll finally be something exciting to do other than all the boring things we were assigned for today.” Holding his staff in both hands, his orb glows a brighter blue to match his eyes. 

Pidge is practically fuming, pushing Hunk out of the way to step closer to the latino. “We didn’t get  _ anything _ done because  _ you  _ kept wandering off and getting lost. Not only that, but you’d run into a Kappa or something and try to idiotically fight it yourself. We’re supposed to work together, that’s why we’re assigned with two members from different tribes!” A small group forms around them now, chanting to have a magic duel. The ground beneath Pidge has already started sprouting small flowers in response to her rage. “You know I needed the first stone on that list to help my brother. It was the most important thing for me to find and because of you, I couldn’t!” Lance feels a little guilty at hearing Pidge talk about her brother. It’s a sensitive subject for all of them since Pidge’s brother, Matt, was taken by Zarkon’s men a few years back. They weren’t any closer to finding out information regarding Matt, so Lance usually tried avoiding the subject all together. 

Hunk manages to wedge himself between the two. “While I agree with Pidge that we didn’t accomplish anything because Lance kept running off, we should fix this in a nonviolent way. If Lance thinks he can do these things on his own, then let him. We all know the importance of finding your brother Pidge, so that can be on Lance’s mind when he goes out tomorrow to search for the materials alone.” Hunk’s suggestion seems to calm Pidge down, the light fading from her orb and her eyes go back to their light golden-orange color. Pidge mumbles under her breathe while stuffing her hands into her light brown pants, pulling out a list of materials they were sent to get. She shoves the paper at Hunk before storming her way through the crowd, heading towards the Nature archway. Hunk hands the list to Lance, his brows furrowing in concern. 

“When you go to collect these, bring your communication stone with you in case of an emergency.” 

Lance takes the list, placing it securely behind the waistband of his pants. “Hunk, I’ll be fine! I’m like, the strongest Water wizard ever. Who’d wanna hurt my sexy body?” Hunk groans, watching as Lance gestures to himself with a cocky grin. Just to spite Lance, Hunk’s eyes spark a bright gold, as well as his shoulder tattoo. Lance is on the ground before he knows what hit him, gasping at the sudden contact of his head against the polished marble floor. He scrambles to get up as Hunk quickly makes his leave towards the Air archway.

“Hunk! Get back here you airhead! I’m gonna kick your ass!” 

Lance leaves the next morning at first light, tired and slightly angry at his friends for yesterday but is determined to find everything on the list to shove it in their faces. The guards at the entrance give him weary looks as he passes, but he just waves to them before making his way across the roots. It takes him a good ten minutes to scale down the side of the cliff, before he’s on the ground and walking through the forest. Lance feels free being in the trees, hearing nothing but the birds and whistles of the wind through the leaves. After a few minutes of standing in one spot, he pulls out the list and begins reading the things off.  _ These shouldn’t be too hard to get, _ Lance thinks cockily. 

After a few hours of walking in a random direction, Lance is growing quite irritated. He has yet to find  _ one _ thing on his list and it’s almost noon. Not only that but he hasn’t seen any water for a few miles, so he’s basically defenseless. He already had to sprint away from a small group of Red Caps; those nasty little creatures almost killed him. But he managed to dash away, being much faster than them. Lance knew he’d leave these details out, however, when he returns to proudly present all the things he found. When he’d found them. If he’d find them. 

“I can’t do anything here!” Lance screams, having enough. “There’s no water, so I can’t use my powers. And I can’t find the stone I need!” Lance stops in a small clearing, glowering at the first thing on the list while he mumbles to himself. After a few seconds he tucks the list away and looks straight ahead. “Only Pidge can use her powers here... I hate this forest.” Lance can practically hear Pidge’s mocking voice in his ear. He grips his staff a bit tighter, making a move to start walking again except stopping at the sudden cracking noise coming from behind him.  _ What is that sound? _ Lance thinks, slowly turning to look at the vast of trees. He hugs his staff to his chest as he calls out; “Is anyone there?” No answer comes. Of course no answer would come. Lance should’ve expected it, but he couldn’t help but ask it. He is slightly terrified, all the horror stories Pidge used to tell him of the things they didn’t know about in this forest begin swarming in his head. He gulps nervously, spotting a dark blob in the corner of his eye. He turns his head quickly with a terrified expression as a warm, hard forehead collides against his, sending both of them tumbling to the ground.

Lance doesn’t even realize his eyes are closed as he complains softly about the pain. At the sound of a groan from above him, Lance’s eyes snap open, his cheeks heating a little as he realizes a guy had bumped into him. A _hot_ guy. And not just a _hot_ guy, but a _hot_ _Fire_ element guy. Lance is a little surprised to spot the small blood red mark underneath his left eye, which stands out against the pale skin. Bright red eyes peek open at him and Lance is quick to look away, his face heating up more to look almost like a tomato.

“Uhm... eh... are you okay?” Lance asks quietly, his voice wavering only slightly. Lance can distinctly feel the stranger’s eyes, trailing down his chest and stomach to his sharp hip bones. 

“Uhm, I...” The Fire wielder speaks, causing Lance to go rigid at the sound of his voice. That voice, oh my fairy, that voice was like heaven to Lance’s ears. Both boys jump at the booming tone shouting between the trees.

“Keith come here now!” Lance raises his eyes slowly to look at Keith. Keith... Lance really likes that name, it just feels like it fits. Keith, though, seems to be ticked off at the sound of the voice, his jaw clenching tightly.

Keith scrambles to his feet, jumping over Lance and barely missing the Water wielder’s face with his black boot while yelling an apology. Lance watches in silent agony as Keith sprints into the trees opposite of where the shout came from. Lance just lays there for a few minutes, confused as to what just happened, startled yet again that day when someone comes barreling into the clearing. Lance then realizing how embarrassing he looks with his cropped blue and gray poncho riding up almost to his neck with his already low pants. He quickly scrambles to fix his appearance, noticing just who is standing in front of him. It’s Shiro! The friend of the Light Princess. The only one known to have both Darkness and Fire allowed on Academy soil. Shiro the all mighty strong powerful wizard. Shiro the only named Paladin.  _ That _ Shiro. 

Shiro looks concerned, a little out of breath as he runs his eyes curiously over Lance. Lance couldn’t help but do the same, awkwardly. Shiro is wearing gold shoes, tight fitting black pants with a gold sash that wraps twice around his waist. Instead of a shirt, he wears black sleeves with holes on the sides of his shoulders, showing off his faded fire mark as well as his toned six pack. The sleeves come over the edges off his chest, curving up and closer towards his neck and attached by a gold buckle choker. Shiro also wears a thin, gold, pointed chest piece and to top it off, a white dangle stone on his left ear. Even though Shiro is wearing less than Lance, he still feels underdressed.

“Where’d he go?” Shiro’s voice snaps Lance out of his stupor, meeting the older man’s gaze.

“He-he ran off that way.” Lance manages to point behind himself, sitting up and grabbing his blue wizard pointed hat and putting it back atop his head. He smooths out his blue and gray poncho, straightening his blue and purple scarves, glancing at Shiro through his lashes. Shiro’s teeth clench in obvious anger as he sprints off in the direction of the Fire wielder. 

Lance watches him go with mild curiosity, before slowly standing up and brushing the dirt off the back of his pants. He bends down to get his staff before taking out his communication stone. He blows on it, the stone glowing a light purple for a few seconds before going back to its original color. Lance blows on it again, and this time it stays lit up, Hunk’s crackly voice coming through.

“Did you find the stone?” Hunk asks, the stone becoming brighter at each word, and diming with each pause. 

“Not yet. But you’ll never guess what just happened.” Lance grins as he walks in the direction of where Shiro and Keith had disappeared. 

“You finally found a brain,” Pidges snarky reply is barely audible, probably due to the distance between the two communication stones. Lance glares at the stone as though Pidge can see it.

“I already have a beautiful brain thank you very much. But no, I just ran into a Fire wielder!” Lance can hear Pidge and Hunk’s startled gasps. Loud static and ruffling noises are heard before Pidge’s voice comes through again.

“A Fire wielder? What was a Fire wielder doing so far across the Galra border? Was anyone else with him? Did he have reinforcements?” Hunk’s voice is barely audible in the background, and sadly Lance can’t make out exactly what he is saying, only a shushing sound from Pidge to shut him up. 

“I don’t know. All I know is his name is Keith and Shiro was chasing him. Yeah that’s right.  _ The  _ Shiro was chasing after the Fire wielder.” Pidge and Hunk gasp again, as they both scramble to talk into the communication stone.

“You actually met Shiro?” 

“Who cares about Shiro,” Pidge interjects. “All I care about is any information you can give me on this Fire wielder.”

“Did Shiro say anything to you?” 

“This Keith could have information about my brother!” 

Lance groans, wishing he could just throw the communication stone away. “I can’t understand you guys if you both talk at the same time. The Fire wizard ran off towards the Galra border and Shiro popped out asking where he went. I answered and he sprinted in the direction I pointed at. That’s all I got,” Lance explains slowly, hearing a sigh from the other side, whom he figures is Pidge.

“Well, what did this Keith look like? I can find a Looking Glass and search for his face and name there.” Lance nods and stares blankly into the stone, continuing to walk towards where he thinks Shiro ran as he pictures what he remembers of Keith’s face, which wasn’t hard since it is still fresh in his mind. 

“He had pale skin, which was really contrasting against his dark blood red mark under his left eye. His eyes though, were the same bloody red as his mark, it was like a blazing fire in his irises. The strangest thing though, is that he had a dark black mullet. I mean who has a mullet these days? That’s so -” 

“Lance! Stop criticizing the Fire wielder for his hairdo.” 

Lance rolls his eyes. “At least he has a better do than you.” 

“Lance.” It’s Hunk this time, seemingly just as annoyed as Pidge.

“Sorry, jeez. Back to Keith then. He wore one black glove on his left hand and he carried a spear in the other. From what I could see he had on black pants with a dull gold sash and a sleeveless red shirt. That shirt did him some good too, showed off his amazing biceps. Moving on... he had a fur jacket with a hood, the drawstrings had two blood painted feathers attached. Probably took them off of a trophy kill, he looks like he could handle himself against a dragon! Anywho, that’s all I remember, it all happened so fast.” It is silent on the other end for a good while until Pidge speaks up.

“How long did the encounter between you and Keith last?” 

Lance furrows his brows at the question. “Like five seconds, why?” There is some stifled laughing and static.

“Sounds like someone has a crush.” 

Lance blushes, about to answer, but the problem with talking and staring at a communication stone is that you don’t watch where you’re going. Unfortunately for Lance, he steps right into a trap. It bursts out from beneath the moss and leaves, capturing Lance and lifting him from the ground. Lance is so startled he drops his communication stone with a yelp as the net swings back and forth in the air. He feels a bit nauseous at the height and the swaying of the net. A few Manticores fly down from the sky, landing underneath Lance, who can feel his heart drop to his stomach at counting at least 4 of them. He has no water to wield for protection, no teleportation stones to get him out of here, no dust to blind the Manticores’ eyes. His only line of communication for help was below him on the ground, underneath the paws of one of the larger Manticores. Swallowing his pride, Lance lets out the loudest scream he can muster.


	3. Too Pretty to Die

Shiro feels his lungs burn at the physical exercise as his eyes stay trained on the few bloodied feathers in the ponytail of a certain Fire wielder. Shiro is gaining on Keith, and they both knew it, but it is only because he’s controlling the shadows around the runaway to slow him down. Keith wills his legs to go faster, but they refuse to listen seeing as he’s been running since he escaped from the back of Alfur Academy. Shiro is barely an arm’s length away until his perceptive hearing picks up on Lance’s scream. Shiro skids to a halt, having to balance at the sudden force as he hears yet another scream - however, this time, he’s screaming the word help. Shiro looks fleetingly at Keith, whom stops at the sound as well; before Shiro is sprinting in the direction of Lance’s screams. He will punish the boy after finding out why he’s screaming.

Lance screams again, his voice cracking from his throat being so dry. He hadn’t had any water since this morning, and being unprepared has come to finally bite him in the ass. Lance opens his mouth to scream again but suddenly he’s hurdling towards the ground. One of the Manticores had cut the rope holding him up with its scorpion like tail. Lance collides with the earth painfully, his breath being knocked out of him and tears springing in his eyes from the pain. The Manticores surround him, their disturbingly human like faces opening their jaws wide to feast upon their catch. Lance tries to escape but the net around him constricts his movements to awkward wiggling. 

“I’m too pretty to die! I would not look good all chewed up and eaten!” Lance cries out at the approaching creatures. He can smell the putrid scent of carcasses in their breaths as they get closer to his face.

Blazing hot fire scorches the earth around Lance, surrounding him in a circle. Lance shrieks, struggling more in his confines at the sudden appearance of the fire. The Manticores roar, sounding like a mix between man and lion, rearing their heads towards the figure stepping out from behind a tree. Shiro faces the creatures with a stone cold face, a rather large fireball in his hand. He glances at Lance with a stern look that told him he was in trouble once they got out of this. Lance doesn’t really care at the moment though, because Shiro had heard him and he was going to live another day.

One of the Manticores flick their tail towards Shiro, sending a poisonous dart flying his way. Shiro dodges, only to be swiped at with an enormous, clawed paw. He raises his arms to block, surprisingly matching the strength of the creature. Another Manticore attacks from behind, flicking its tail to launch darts at him. Shiro’s eyes flash red as he swings his free arm out, fire trailing behind and effectively blocking him from the darts. One attacks from the air, falling out of the sky to drop all of its weight on Shiro. Shiro gets practically crushed underneath its weight, being pinned to the ground. Lance can barely see from his spot, a lone arm peeking out from underneath the creature. The Manticore’s low sides start lighting up, it shifts its’ weight in slight discomfort before it’s head falls limp on the group. The one arm that’s free moves, pushing on the creature’s side until it rolls off of Shiro, who comes out all dusty and bloody. The creature’s underbelly has a scorched hole right in it’s chest, which is probably what killed it.

The other Manticores attack at once, angered that one of their kind is dead. Shiro dodges between them, sprinting towards Lance and standing over him protectively. The Manticores surround them, drool dripping from their open snarling mouths, claws digging into the earth preparing to strike. Shiro shifts his feet, clamping them against Lance’s shoulders, one nudging a little painfully. Lance winces in pain, glaring at the leg before noticing the glint of a dagger behind the pant leg. He casts a look at Shiro, whose eyes never leave the Manticores surrounding them. Acting quickly, Lance manages to stick his hand through the net, lifting the bottom of the pant leg to pull the dagger from its holster just before one of the Manticores decides to jump towards them. Shiro hurdles himself at the creature while forming a big ball of fire in his hands, throwing it at the Manticore’s face. It yowls in pain, scratching its’ paw against its’ face to try and rid the burnt fur. 

Lance vigorously cuts at the net, only looking away from his task every now and then to check on Shiro. Once he manages to cut a sizable hole, he begins crawling out, listening to the roars of the creatures. Lance avoids the fire still surrounding him in an almost perfect circle, sitting up and easily spotting Shiro pinned under two of the Manticores. Fearful for his comrade, Lance tries going to him, but his legs are still tangled in the net. Lance frantically kicks his legs, trying to detangle them from the net but managing to only tangle them further. He looks back at Shiro with wide panicky eyes as the third Manticore makes its move to attack. 

“Shiro!” Keith jumps out from the brush, the end of his spear blazed with flames as he slices along the face of the Manticore. It screams in pain, cringing back as Keith swipes at the other Manticores. 

The ends of their fur spark, and soon the creatures’ whole bodies are on fire, causing them to jump up and away from Shiro, rolling on the grass and spreading the fire. In a matter of minutes the whole area around the three wizards is in flames, the Manticores continue to run around wildly as they burn alive. Keith helps Shiro up, getting whacked in the head and scolded as soon as Shiro’s upright. Lance is lucky to be in the only spot not on fire, finally having the time to carefully cut the netting from around his legs before shuffling to his feet. He clutches his staff to his chest - it thankfully untouched by the fire - as he stares at Shiro, waiting for the older man to spot him. 

Lance’s skin feels hot from being surrounded by the one thing he hated, fire. He is sweating badly, wanting nothing more than some soothing water to envelope his body. The longer he stares at the fire the more his face loses it’s color. His throat starts choking up as memories flash past his eyes. He doesn’t even register his body trembling until his legs give out, but thankfully Shiro catches his arm. Lance looks up at him with a relieved smile, noticing that the Manticores were gone as well as the fire. Woah, when did that happen? All around Lance was just burnt grass and toppled trees, their leaves all burnt off to leave them all black and barren. His skin cools at the refreshing breeze blowing around them, and he feels a lot better now that the fire is gone. Lance steadies his footing, glancing at Keith who looks rather ticked off, and soon Lance finds out why.

“I can’t believe you’re arresting me! I just saved your life!” Keith yells at Shiro angrily, pulling at the shadow cuffs that keep his wrists bound behind his back. He tries running as well, but the shadows at his feet keep him rooted in his spot. Keith curses under his breath, glaring daggers at Shiro whom simply crosses his arms.

“Yes, and you saved me the trouble of trying to chase you again. I just want to protect you Keith, and I can’t protect you if you’re out of my reach,” Shiro says simply, before turning his attention to Lance. “And you, young wizard. Do you understand how dangerous these woods are, especially when you get closer to the Galra border? You should have turned around and headed back to Alfur Academy.” Lance flinches at the scolding.

“I’m sorry...” Lance mumbles softly, looking everywhere but the older wizard. Shiro sighs, running his gloved hand through his hair.

“Don’t ever venture out this far unless you are under orders. Understood?” Lance simply nods, fidgeting with his staff. “You can’t tell anyone about this encounter. Especially about Keith. If you do, you’ll -”

“I... uhm, already told someone about Keith...” Lance manages to get out sheepishly. 

Shiro’s gaze turns stone cold, his arms crossing over his chest to make him look menacing. “You what?” Shiro grounds out, Keith snorts and looks as though he is about to say something, but shuts his mouth with one look from Shiro.

“T-that’s how I got caught in the trap,” Lance explains, shuffling on his feet nervously. He is surprised with himself, he would usually be firing back snarky remarks or rude nicknames. However, Lance has a feeling that he really shouldn’t be testing the older wizard right now.

Shiro groans, rubbing his temples before sighing. “I guess I have no choice but to bring you to the Princess for judgement as well as whomever you told. Who is it? Do you have your communication stone on you?” Lance’s head perks up at Shiro’s words before he begins looking around frantically through the ash and ripped net. 

Shiro curiously watches him, a bit tense in not really knowing what Lance is doing. With a whoop of success, Lance raises his communication stone in the air with a proud smile. He immediately blows on the stone before Shiro could think of stopping him and almost instantly two very worried and angry voices start shouting through the stone.

“Lance!? What the hell man?” Hunk yells, Lance cringes a bit.

“What happened? Did you fall into a pit or something because you weren’t watching where you were going, again?” Pidge says bitterly, obviously not happy at being scared to death at the thought of having someone else close to him disappear. 

“Did something attack you? Was it that Fire wielder?” Lance opens his mouth to answer but the communication stone is lifted from his hands, and he doesn’t bother trying to stop Shiro.

“This is Shiro speaking, your friend is fine. However, I demand the both of you state your names, ranks, and elements.” The other end was silent for a short time.

“I’m Pidge, sir. Sverd. Earth element.” 

“And I’m Hunk, also a Sverd, Air element.” 

“The both of you are not allowed to discuss any of the information your friend supplied you about him meeting a Fire wielder, nor are you to discuss him meeting me. I will contact you again when we are back at Alfur Academy, and when I do you must come to the throne room. Do not, and I repeat, do not tell anyone why you are going there. Tell the guards at the arch that I have sent for you. That is all for now.” Shiro rest his hands over the stone until it’s color dulls before he pockets it, staring down at Lance who quickly stands. “I trust that you will follow me quietly and I don’t have to restrain you.” 

“N-no restraints necessary! I’ll follow!” Lance says quickly, Shiro nods approvingly before looking back at Keith. 

To say Keith is mad would be an understatement. He once again pulls at his shadow restraints, drilling holes in the back of Shiro’s head, since he had taken the lead. He knows his pale wrists are bleeding and bruised, but he can care less. To be honest though, Keith doesn’t know whether to be frustrated with Shiro, or thankful. After the older wizard’s escape, Zarkon was surprisingly gentle to Keith. Zarkon took the young wizard under his wing, personally training him to become his new protege. The training was hard, and it isolated Keith from all the other Fire wizards. He was barricaded in a certain part of the Galra castle, away from everyone but Zarkon. He was promised to be allowed to leave and move around the castle and area surrounding it if he became a Skulbaba. For some reason Keith still doesn’t understand, Zarkon had said he wanted to use the same ranks as Alfur academy. How Zarkon had found out about them in the first place was a mystery to Keith, but he went with it anyways and became a Skulbaba. He regrets it now, seeing as it was a definite mistake to leave the castle today. 

Keith wants to punch something, but seeing as his hands are painfully bound behind his back, he’s stuck spewing curse words in Korean under his breath. Shiro knows he’s swearing at him, even if he can’t understand exactly what Keith is saying. Lance glances back at Keith, curiousness written all over his face. Lance said he’d follow Shiro, but he never agreed to be quiet. He hates the silence in fact, so much so he thinks it would be good to talk to Keith. 

“You speak Korean?” Lance asks, walking alongside Keith. 

The Fire wizard seems a bit surprised at the question, but hides it with a dull stare. “Yeah. What’s it to you?” Keith hisses out, wishing he could walk faster, but his limbs don’t listen to him.  _ All thanks to Shiro and his freaking Darkness powers controlling my legs’ shadows,  _ Keith thinks bitterly. 

“Cool it Mullethead, I’m just trying to make small talk.” 

Keith’s mouth drops open at the nickname. “What did you just call me?” Keith sneers. Lance’s eyebrows draw up, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face. At least one of them is amused.

“Mullethead.” 

Keith really wished his hands were free right now. “M-mullethea -! You are so lucky my hands are bound and I don’t have my spear.” 

Lance chuckles, waving his staff around a little. “Or what, huh? What would you do, Mullethead?” Lance teases, smiling bigger as he realizes just how angry Keith is at his stupid little nickname. Keith’s eyes are no longer a blood red but a scarlet red, and his mark is a darker blood red then before. Lance can clearly see Keith struggling against his restraints, no doubt wanting to burn Lance but not even being able to walk threateningly closer to him. Instead Keith leans his upper body towards the other boy, puffing his chest out to make him look taller. 

“I would slowly burn you alive,” Keith grinds out, venom dripping off every word. Lance leans toward Keith, also puffing out his chest to look taller, though they both knew he already was. 

“Hijo de puta! I’d like to see you try! You’d be drowning in a bubble of water before you could even spark a small flame.” They are practically centimeters away, their foreheads brushing together but neither bother to think about it as they glare heatedly into each other’s eyes. Lance’s had managed to glow a brilliant sky blue from being so worked up. 

“Mee che nom! I would dry up any sources of water before you could say ‘oops’.” 

“I highly doubt that! I’m one of the fastest and strongest Water wizards at the academy. Don’t think I’ll be so easily defeated by a low rank Fire wizard like yourself.” So, maybe Lance exaggerated a little on being the best in the academy, but Keith wouldn’t know that. No harm, no foul. 

“Low rank! Excuse me, but I’m Zarkon’s -” 

“That’s enough! Both of you!” Shiro’s commanding voice shuts both the wizards up immediately. Shiro had stopped, causing them to have to halt as well. They sheepishly look at him, just waiting to be yelled at. “You two are worse than an old married couple! I expect silence for the rest of the walk back or I will gag the both of you without any hesitation. Do I make myself clear?” Keith and Lance both nod, standing straight and looking anywhere but each other. They begin walking again, however Lance doesn’t mind the silence this time. 

Shiro leads the two of them around the castle to a back entrance Lance didn’t know existed. Shiro then orders Lance to not speak of this to anyone, and if he did he would be severely punished, by Shiro himself. Lance will forever remember not to get on Shiro’s bad side. The three of them pass through what seems to be a light border, distorting the scenery to make it seem like there isn’t an entrance. Stepping through it was a little disorienting for Lance, going from seeing a vast forest to seeing the backside of Altea. Shiro leads them to a small rock door, resting his hand in the middle and mumbling a few words. The door’s marking glow a bright white before it slowly creaks open. The three of them make their way inside, small light crystals being the only light to guide them through the small tunnel. While walking down the seemingly never ending spiral stairwell, Shiro pulls out Lance’s communication stone, blowing on it and waiting patiently for an answer. Pidge speaks up, sounding a bit fearful. She listens to Shiro’s words before the stone goes dull. Guess Hunk was too afraid to talk to big bad Shiro. Lance doesn’t blame him. 

After a few more minutes Shiro stops at a wooden door, with intricate designs carved into its surface. Lance doesn’t have anytime to marvel at them because Shiro pulls the door open, bright sunlight flooding into the somewhat dark tunnel. Lance openly gasps at the light gray metal throne room. Large aqua blue stones hang from the ceilings like chandeliers, it pretty much open except for two large chairs decorated in white gold. Atop of the throne, sitting on the chair next to a larger one in the middle - less decorated and with a dark white gold - is who Lance assumes is the Princess. Her skin is a dark brown color, darker than Hunk’s. Her hair is long, incredibly long and wavy, silver in color and barely covering her long pointed ears. Under both eyes are dulled silver triangle marks, and upon standing, Lance spots another mark on the outside of her thigh. Her light blue skirt cuts up over her mark to showcase one of her legs almost scandalously, yet elegant at the same time with a thin white sash tied underneath her mark. Her top is barely a top at all, looking almost like an undergarment but cut off a little below her breasts in a ‘v’ shape. The neckline of the undergarment like top has practically the same ‘v’ shape on top, but with a gold embroidery on the hem of the white fabric and dangerously low on her cleavage. A light blue cape rests on her shoulders, draping down all the way to the floor, gold hemming all around. And a thin white silk choker with a small golden heart pendant hangs around her neck. 

As she approaches them with her tall staff looking almost like Lance’s, he spots an earring in her right ear that looks strikingly similar to the one that Shiro has. Lance can’t help but smirk at this information as he side glances at Shiro, who is watching the Princess descend the stairs with a loving gaze. Lance follows his gaze to see the same look in the Princess’ sapphire eyes. Keith is itching to run the closer Allura gets to them, but he is still rooted in place all thanks to Shiro’s shadows. Keith has very conflicted feelings towards Allura. He’s on the fence of hating her, and being grateful to her. She took Shiro away from him, the only thing close to a brother that he’s ever had, but she saved him. When Allura breaks her gaze to glance worryingly at Keith, he’s quick to look away from her, scowling at a random spot on the floor. 

“Shiro,” Allura finally speaks once she’s in front of them, more so in front of Shiro. “Are you alright?” Her voice is laced with worry, a hand on his cheek wiping away at some soot and blood. Shiro’s cheeks darken a little, and he softly grabs her hand, removing it from his face. 

“Allura...” She only smiles kindly at him, before her attention turns to Lance. He straightens his back and flashes her a flirtatious smile. 

“Well hello Princess. You are looking exceedingly beautiful today,” Lance flirts, earning a whack on the head by Shiro. Allura’s gaze narrows at his words, before she trails her gaze up and down his body. 

“And you are?” Lance is quick to hold out a hand for her to shake. 

“Lance. Lance McClain. It is a great pleasure to meet you.” Allura cautiously places her hand in his. Lance bends down to peck a kiss on the back of her hand but she quickly pulls it back, Shiro stepping between the two with a murderous glare. Lance holds his hands up in surrender, taking a small step back. Keith rolls his eyes at Lance’s antics.  _ Idiot.  _

“Keith.” He's startled by his own name, sneering at the person who said it. “It’s nice to have you back so soon. How was your run?” Allura asks, walking over to him with a smile. Keith is more than angry, he wants to start shouting at her but he knows if he even raises his voice, Shiro won’t hold back. 

“Fine,” Keith manages to bite out. “Would’ve been better without the restraints.” 

“You wouldn’t have come back without them,” Shiro states with a smile. 

“That’s the point!” Keith barks, though Shiro only looks amused. 

“You’ll be let out of the restraints if you don’t run,” Allura comments, making Keith roll his eyes. 

“Why in the world wouldn’t I run?” 

“Because you’re safe here,” Shiro immediately replies. Keith turns to glare at him, whatever he is gonna say is cut off by the massive throne doors opening. 

Pidge and Hunk shuffle through the door, their hands clasped tightly together between them. Lance’s face lights up upon seeing them, and he scurries to meet them only to receive an elbow in the gut from Pidge. Lance pouts at Hunk, who ignores Lance because his focus is on Shiro. The three friends take their spot a few feet away from Allura and Shiro, Pidge standing the furthest away from Keith. Hunk and Lance knows she is holding her tongue from beginning to scream at him, hoping to get information about her brother. There is a time and a place for everything, and Pidge knows this is neither the time nor place to be looking for answers. 

Allura looks over Pidge and Hunk, before smiling gently at them. “Hello, you two. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Allura,” the Princess speaks in a soothing voice, effectively calming Hunk down.

“It is nice to meet you Princess Allura, I’m Hunk.” He holds out his hand politely towards her, and she hesitates this time. She glances at Shiro - as if asking him for permission - who nods his head towards Hunk. She shakes his hand with an apologetic look.

“I hope you can excuse my hesitance. Shaking your dear friend’s hand was very unpleasant.”  

Hunk lets go of Allura’s hand to glare at Lance, a scolding at the tip of his tongue. Lance just sheepishly smiles up at his friend, taking a tiny step away from him. “Don’t look at me like that, Hunk! She’s hot, you can’t expect me to not flirt with her,” Lance claims, though he regrets it the minute it leaves his mouth. 

Hunk punches Lance’s shoulder, a stern look on his face. “She’s the Princess, Lance! You don’t flirt with the Princess! I’m starting to believe Pidge when she tells me there’s nothing but water sloshing around in your head.” Lance’s mouth drops open as he puts a hand over his heart, looking very offended. 

Pidge rolls her eyes at the two, holding her hand out for Allura. “I’m Pidge. I’m sorry for Lance, he’s like that all the time. I could beat him up for you?” 

Allura laughs, shaking Pidge’s hand. “Oh no, that won’t be necessary. I hope he’s learned his lesson. However, back to the current matter. Shiro, why are all these other wizards here besides Keith. This was supposed to be kept on the downlow.” 

Shiro sighs, catching Lance’s gaze. “I was chasing Keith, and we both ran into Lance. He had decided to follow after us, presumably telling his friends about Keith and me. Lance got caught in a trap and had started screaming so I had no choice but to go back and help him. Keith came to my aid and I took the chance to capture him once the threat was gone. I had no choice but to take Lance with me, as well as contact his friends to find out what they knew. I should’ve been more vigilant, and I apologize.” 

Allura waves her hands in dismissal. “Shiro, there is no reason to apologize. For now, let’s go with our original plan and keep Keith in our private holding cell. While we keep him there we can figure out what to do with Lance, Pidge, and Hunk here.” 

Keith growls at Allura’s words, anger radiating off him. “You’re going to lock me in a cage!?” He practically shouts. 

Shiro and Allura give him sad looks. “That’s the only way we know how to keep you from running. This is for your protection,” Shiro replies, placing a hand on Keith’s shoulder. 

Keith jerks his shoulder away from the touch. “I never asked for your protection! You should’ve just stayed away from me, living happily with your Princess.” Shiro’s eyes sadden more at Keith’s harsh words, glancing at Allura for help.

“Keith… you know I didn’t mean to take Shiro away from you. I -” 

“Save it,” Keith grinds out. Shiro tries to not feel offended, knowing where Keith is coming from. 

In the Galra, they only had each other. Keith was the only family Shiro had ever known, and it was the same for Keith. When he was taken away, Shiro could barely think about what Keith had to go through being suddenly all alone. It’s not like he wanted to leave Keith, in fact he wanted to take Keith with him, but he was pressed for time. Allura had created a very slim window for his escape, and he regretted leaving without Keith ever since that day. That is why now, he will do anything to keep Keith from going back to that horrible place, back to Zarkon. Allura gives Shiro a look, as if sending him a telepathic message. Shiro nods in understanding, willing the shadows around Keith’s legs to make Keith follow him out of the throne room. Lance watches Keith go, nibbling on his bottom lip at remembering the fighting that had just taken place. Lance decides to not ask about it, turning his attention away from the retreating Fire wielder to focus on Allura.

“Now for the three of you, I ask that you do  _ not  _ talk about any of this to anyone. If someone asks what you were doing down this wing, say you moved up a rank.” Pidge, Hunk, and Lance’s eyes light up in hope. Allura answers their question before they can ask it. “As a reward for your silence, I will allow you all to move up one rank. However, if I find out anything gets out about Keith or Shiro, you will all start at Burthr and be severely punished.” Lance feels as though he’s heard the word ‘punish’ today more than he has in his entire life. Allura and Shiro sure know how to keep people in line. Allura fetches three red stones and hands one to each of them. Lance pinches the stone between his fingers and holds it up towards one of the windows, letting the light reflect through the stone. The stone shines a brilliant red that has Lance remembering what else had looked so very red. 


	4. Allura. No.

Shiro pushes Keith into a well furnished cell, complete with a small toilet and shower hidden by a light white curtain. Keith whips around and charges for Shiro, but instead crashes against the cold steels bars. The shadows release his sore, probably bruised, and bloody wrists, though Keith doesn’t dare look at them. He bares his teeth at the older man, fire consuming his hands as he grips the bars, making his knuckles turn white. Shiro sighs, but says nothing as he walks out of the small room. Keith screams and shouts at his back, going silent after hearing the slam of the door. 

Keith does his best to calm down so he doesn’t burn the nice looking bed in the corner of the cell. On the opposite wall is the small bathroom as well as a medium desk, some paper, a feather pen, and a few books. Keith immediately goes to the bathroom, pulling the curtain around the full tub. He rids his clothes quickly, stepping into the water with a content sigh. Keith hugs his knees in the water, staring at the clear water and going deep into thought. Zarkon never liked when Keith is out for too long, having feared that he would run away like Shiro. He is going to be severely punished when he gets back to the castle, and the longer Keith sits there in tub, the more frightened he gets about returning.

Shiro goes straight to Allura’s living quarters, rapping his knuckles against her door before entering. He gives her a loving smile after spotting her lounging on the sofa. He takes a seat next to her, brushing his lips against her forehead. She leans into his form, letting him wrap an arm around her waist. Shiro traces his fingers along the back of Allura’s hand, intertwining them. He smiles at their hands, rubbing his thumb soothingly along her skin. Allura lifts their joined hands and kisses the back of Shiro’s, raising her head up slightly to smile at him.

“What are we going to do about Keith?” Shiro asks quietly, letting his cheek rest atop of Allura’s head.

“I have a few ideas actually,” Allura replies quite quickly. “We need something that will keep him here right? Well why don’t we tie his shadow to someone else’s?” 

“Allura, while that is a good idea, I can’t have Keith walking around with me everywhere. I have important meetings to go to, and if the people see me with another Fire wizard they will start asking questions. It would draw too much attention.” Shiro angles his head so he can look into Allura’s eyes. She cups his cheek with her free hand.

“I wasn’t saying he should be attached to you.” Shiro furrows his brows in curiosity and worry.

“If you mean yourself, I have to firmly disagree.” Allura laughs a little, shaking her head before smirking up at him.

“Oh no, I’m talking about tying him to that Lance fellow.” Shiro’s eyes widen, his answer almost immediate. 

“I think that’s a very bad idea Allura.” 

“Sure my first impression of Lance wasn’t a very good one, but I think it might benefit both Keith and Lance to be put on a team together.” Shiro shakes his head in bafflement.

“Explain to me how they would make a good team. I’ve read over reports of Lance’s teamwork and they are the worst I have ever seen. Keith has only ever trained alone, suddenly telling him to work with a Water wizard no less would only be disastrous.”  

“Think about the benefits though Shiro. If they manage to work together, combining their powers of Fire and Water. It could be one of the strongest combination of elements that we have at the academy. It can also teach Lance and Keith to learn to work with others.” Allura grins and Shiro can’t help but narrow his eyes at her. He can see past her words knowing there’s some hidden meaning.

“Why are you really putting them together Allura. Tell me the truth.” Allura sighs, but still grins in amusement. Shiro knows her all too well.

“Alright you caught me. The real reason why I want to pair them together is because I saw the way Keith was glancing at Lance and vis versa. They would make such a cute couple!” Shiro groans, slapping a palm to his forehead. 

“No, Allura you cannot play wizardmaker. They will kill each other by the end of the day. You should’ve seen the way they bickered on the walk back to the academy.” 

“I ship it.” 

“Allura no.”

“Their ship name is Klance.”

“Allura. No.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! So, I apologize for the short chapter, I was debating adding more but I thought that it was too amazing of an ending to ruin it. However, to make up for such a short chapter, I will ask all of you a question.
> 
> Do you want me to post another chapter tomorrow to make up for the short chapter this time?
> 
> Let me know what you think and tomorrow I will check the answers and go from there! <3
> 
>  
> 
> Loves~~


	5. Bullies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! So, I know this chapter is short and it's been a long while, but it's the beginning of what I got. And to be honest, I have been through a lot of horrid shit in the time I haven't posted so I'm sorry, I've just had no drive to write nor the time. I'm hoping that now things have finally settled down (except of upcoming finals which I'm trying not to think about) I'll start writing more. Thank you for being patient! And I'll post another chapter as soon as I can! I also apologize for any typos, I haven't really read through this chapter. Also credit to sweetpeamomote for the Spanish ^^
> 
>  
> 
> Loves~~

Lance practically skips through the halls next to Hunk and Pidge. They are also beaming with excitement but decide to not skip along with their idiotic friend. Lance takes out the red stone he tied to a string from under his scarf, his smile widening at seeing the red reflecting off the retreating sun rays. Pidge glances fleetingly behind her as they return to the main lobby of the academy. Before they left, Pidge stayed behind as the guys went ahead to talk to Allura about the stone she needed for her brother. At the mention of Matt, Allura seemed surprised before sadness crossed her features. She pulled Pidge into a hug and promised to converse about it the matter later. The way Allura acted towards Pidge made her instantly suspicious of the Princess. Hunk takes Pidge’s hand in his, pulling her closer to snap her from her thoughts. Her eyes widen at the sudden movement, but she smiles reassuringly at Hunk. 

“This is like the best day ever! You two should be thanking me,” Lance lets the stone slip from his fingers, turning his head to smirk at his friends over his shoulder. Pidge’s happy mood almost immediately turns annoyed as she glares at Lance.

“And why would we do that?” Pidge demands, raising her eyebrow. Lance rolls his eyes, throwing his arms towards the two for an obnoxious gesture.

“Because if I hadn’t told you guys about Keith I would’ve been the only one moving up a rank,”  Lance beams, jerking a thumb at himself. 

“Yeah and if you didn’t fall into a trap and scream your head off, then Shrio and Keith wouldn’t have saved you,” Pidge adds. Lance’s cheeks burn in embarrassment. “That and teams move up in ranks together, so only you moving up would’ve been impossible.”

“Hey! If I didn’t get caught in that trap Shiro wouldn’t have captured Keith!” Lance recovers, stomping his foot causing the two to stop in their tracks, and also ignoring the comment about teams moving ranks together.

“Because they had to save your sorry ass.” Pidge rolls her eyes, Hunk simply lets out a nervous chuckle. 

“Guys please, stop fighting. We’re in the lobby. We should all just go to sleep now,” Hunk interjects, making the two hotheads turn their attention towards him. 

“Then make your girlfriend apologize for being so mean to me. And I still deserve a thank you.” 

“I’ll go to sleep when  _ he _ apologizes for being so insufferably egotistical.” 

“I am not egotistical!” 

“Yes you are.”

“No I’m not.”

“Yes you are!” 

“No I’m not!” 

“Guys! Seriously cut it out! I will blow the both of you through the roof if you don’t stop. Pidge you’re coming with me, Lance just go back to your room,” Hunk commands loudly, cutting through the arguing. Hunk rarely raises his voice at anyone, so they comply almost immediately. Pidge follows quickly after Hunk’s retreating form through the air archway, not bothering to look back at Lance. Lance sighs, rubbing the back of his neck before slowly making his way through the Water archway and up the stone steps to Unda. 

Lance slowly trudges through the shallow aqua water, passing by a few of his fellow Water wizards. He greets them as he climbs a few large boulders on the sides of small river rapid, heading towards the back of the ecosystem. He drowns out his own thoughts by listening to the rushing water around him, hoping to wash away the events of today with a warm bath. He looks up and sees his home, made from large boulders stacked up against each other right on the edge of a small pool of shallow water. He can see his mother’s face in a small opening between two boulders, smiling down at whatever she’s looking at. Lance picks up his pace, excited to tell her about moving up a rank. That is until he’s thrown into the shallow pool his shoulder, side, and head skidding against the slippery pebbles that litter the ground under the water. His staff is flung from his grip landing a few feet away from him. Lance lifts his head, his eyes immediately narrowing at the three Water wizards smirking down at him.

Lance’s eyes flash a bright blue, the water around him floating up from the body to form small balls. He flicks them in the direction of his bullies, though they deflect them with a wall of water. Lance growls at them, lifting himself up in the water on his elbows only to be shoved back down with a black boot. Lance’s head bangs against the pebbles again, fully submerged under the water. He opens his mouth to get in air but only gulps in water, making his body jerk violently. Lance grabs a hold of the boot, kicking his feet and successfully knocking the other off balance, lifting his foot from Lance’s face. He shoots out of the water, coughing violently and taking in grateful gulps of air. A fist slams against his cheek, the taste of blood flooding his mouth as he receives a kick to the stomach. They are yelling insults at him but he doesn’t bother to remember them, their insults meaning nothing. 

Lance distinctly hears the sound of water snakes, having been bullied by them for a long time now. His face goes pale as he lurches back, reaching under the water desperately for his staff. He isn’t fast enough. The water snakes wrap around his arms and legs, pulling them in awkward painful positions. He struggles to get out of them as his arms are yanked behind his back, so forcefully he fears for a second that they’d dislocate his shoulders. His legs are bent at a weird angle, causing Lance to grit his teeth in pain. One of the wizards grabs a fistful of Lance’s hair yanking it backwards, ripping out a few strands. Lance lets out a painful yelp, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. He grinds his teeth as a fist slams into his cheek, laughter filling his ears. 

“Eh! Hijos de puta malparidos! Molestense entre ustedes en vez de molestar a otros!” Lance thanks the heavenly beings for blessing him with an amazing mother. His bullies are scurrying away almost immediately after hearing Lance’s mom, like dogs with their tails between their legs. The water snakes burst and fall into the water, his muscles sag at the release. Lance’s mother is at his side in a few seconds surveying him for injuries.

“Ma, I’m fine.” Lance pushes his mother’s hands away gently, slowly getting to his feet and looking around for his staff.

“Fine? Hijo, your nose is bleeding and you have a scratch on your cheek!” She rushes out. At the mention of blood, Lance swipe the back of his hand under his nose, pulling it away to reveal smeared blood. Lance cringes a little, before dipping his hand in the water to wipe it off and splash some water in his face. 

“Mom, really, it’s fine. Nothing I can’t deal with on my own.” 


	6. Tied

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don't care why I haven't written anything in the past few months, skip this long ass intro.  
> I love how last chapter, I said everything had quieted down and I'd have more time to write. It's funny how the world has a weird fascination to destroy my life/happiness every time it can. I won't bore you with my sob story of how a few people who I knew died (including my dog. That was not fun. He was still only a puppy), my fiancé broke up with me, I lost a really good friend (one of my best friends, and even though he says he doesn't hate me we rarely talk and everything is just different), and I felt semi-used by a guy because it felt like all he wanted was me for my body. I've had many blows to my self-esteem lately and it's just been shit. I have no confidence, I feel like I'm losing the people closest to me that are still alive...  
> I kinda just briefed my shit life after saying I wouldn't really bore you (sorry), I felt like everyone deserved an explanation for my disappearance. I haven't abandoned this story, it is just really hard to try writing a romance story when I just lost the love of my life. I get that there's no romance yet but it's still hard. However, writing always calmed me down and I didn't want to just trash this story because people do read this, and I know you guys like it (at least that's what I get from the comments). So... I hope, even when it does get romance-y, that it flows alright and my writing stays strong and doesn't seem like crap. Any who, I'll stop ranting and just say; "Until next chapter!" Thank you for staying with this story, it means a lot to me.
> 
>  
> 
> Loves~~

Pidge, Hunk, and Lance hurry to their new classes in the Varda cluster of trees. Due to moving up a rank they have to attend a different room full of different missions and criterium. Being a Varda means you’ll have more intense training, less robotic and to the rules, and more towards dirty magic tricks and stealthy hits. Sverd’s had to go on treasure hunt missions to find materials needed for different ranks and the medical bays; but for Varda’s their missions are drastically different. They go outside of the school, going against other groups to a ‘Last One Standing’ game. In where no magic is illegal, and you must be the last team who makes it back to the school at least five times before you can move up to Skulbaba. Because this game is such a big deal, many teams get violent. The only two rules are, you can’t kill anyone or permanently paralyze them. The game happens once a month, so all up until that game, mentors drill into their students to use what you got and to work well with your teammates. 

Their new mentor gives them skeptical looks as they approach, but when they show off their Varda stones they’re allowed in. Groups move up and down in ranks almost everyday, so it’s not uncommon for a new group to randomly begin showing up in different classes. Which means, if Lance acts like an idiot, or the group doesn’t finish missions in time, they could be bumped down back to a Sverd. That, or if he continues pushing Pidge’s buttons, especially during the game, it could end very tragically. With being a Varda, it means that you can start training to be a palace guard, which means their mentors will be harsher with them. If they’re not guard material, they will most likely be told to give up their Varda title and go back to being a Sverd for the rest of their lives.

Lance can feel a few people in the room looking at them. He knows why, he had a reputation around the school, and not a good one. There has to be a very good reason to move up a rank, especially to a rank as high as this one, and it’s usually formally announced by the Princess. But Lance and his two friends didn’t have an announcement about their advancing of ranks, nor anything to suggest they had done something worthy of the change. It was bound to get everyone around them talking, gossiping about what “secret” thing they could have possibly done to be there.

On the group’s first day, they are forced to spar with a few other groups. The whole purpose of this particular training exercise was to make sure that each member of the group can join their element with the other two. It’s also to strengthen the group’s bond, making sure they have each other’s backs, and that they know everyone’s fighting styles enough to try and match it, or at least work with it. 

Lance has never been good at the “group” aspect; he’s better when he fights alone. He’s always tried keeping up in a joined fight with Pidge and Hunk, but he just manages to get in their way. Pidge and Hunk would always leave their joined fights with bruises, rashes, and cuts, and it would be all Lance’s fault, either through not being able to protect them or even accidentally hitting them with his own attacks. Lance always felt horrible about it, and tried even harder to help them out. Though, the harder he tried, the more clumsy he got - and the worse he felt. It was a terrible cycle. 

Pidge and Hunk glare daggers into Lance as they walk to their rooms for a lunch break. Lance shamefully looks at the ground, trying to hide the fact that he’s actually really angry with himself. The other wizards they fought had been in Varda for a while and had gotten different training than the three. Which essentially means they had gotten their asses handed to them. Hunk debates heading to medical, Pidge suggesting that they just go back to their rooms and sleep it off. They make it to the lobby and get stopped by one of the guards, commanding them to go to the throne room immediately. The three look at each other worriedly before following behind the guard to the throne room. Lance can feel eyes on his back as they pass under the Light archway. It certainly isn’t everyday people get randomly called into the throne room, and surely people would realize they were the same wizards who were there yesterday too. The warm smile Allura gives them when they walk up to the throne steps makes all three friends feel relieved. 

“You’re probably wondering why I have called for you three.” Allura stands from her chair, gracefully walking down the steps towards them. “None of you are in trouble.” Lance let’s out a sigh of relief, noticing the Princess’ gaze on him. He sends her a flirtatious smirk, earning him an icy glare. “However what I’m about to tell you next might change your lives fo-” 

All four wizards, including the Princess, jump in fright at the loud bang of the throne room door. A very familiar name is yelled from the hallway. Before Allura can even think to try and stop Keith, a huge wall of fire surrounds the small group. Pidge shrieks, clutching onto Hunk whom huddles around the Princess to try and protect the both of them. Lance can barely see Keith run for the hidden door to the back tunnel through the crackling flames. Shiro rushes over to the wall of fire to try calming it down - being covered from head to toe in soot - but it’s flames are hard to tame, just like the wizard who set them. Lance freezes in fear, his eyes focusing on the wall in front of him. The flames crackled loudly in his ears and echoed in his skull. Hunk all the sudden shoves a small animal skin sack at Lance, scaring him back to reality before he turns to raise a shaky eyebrow at Hunk.

“Once the fire is low enough chase after Keith! You’re the fastest person I know,” Hunk yells over the sound of the flames. Lance glances at Allura for approval, but she shows no sign of it, yet she doesn’t show disapproval. 

Hunk let’s go of Allura and Pidge to walk towards to wall of fire on the opposite side of Shiro. His eyes glow a bright yellow as he moves his arms in obnoxious gestures, trying to calm the flames. Shiro and Hunk work surprisingly well together, creating a small hole in the fire wall, big enough for Lance to jump through without being touched by the flames. Shiro shouts at Lance, once again forcing the Latino to shift his gaze away from the fire. He is more than happy to get away from the flames, and before his mind can process what he’s really doing, he jumps through the small hole. 

The moment Lance’s feet touch the metal floor, he’s sprinting in the direction Keith went. The wind whips at his cheeks and ears, adrenaline pumping to will him to move faster. Lance can’t remember the last time he ran this fast, he is going to make the most of it. Thankfully, while he runs, he lets the fear from being surrounded by fire melt away. That idiotic Fire wizard leaves a very nice breadcrumb trail for Lance, the grass and brush being slightly burnt from where he sprinted by. Seems as though Mullethead didn’t calm down that much. It doesn’t take long for Lance to spot Keith, small flames hugging his body to make him look menacing. The small flames seem undisturbed at the harsh wind whipping at them from the speed at which he’s running. The Latino can’t help but smile in victory at finding Keith. He sucks in a breath, his lungs burning pleasantly, shouting as loud as he can. Keith seems caught off guard, his run faltering for a split second. His scarlet eyes peer over his shoulder to glare at Lance who almost freezes at the fire blazing in Keith’s irises. Keith breaks the other’s gaze to run faster through the trees. Lance practically is buzzing with adrenaline and excitement, he is going to catch this Fire wizard if it’s the last thing he does!

Once Lance is about a few steps behind Keith, he opens the animal sack Hunk had given him, willing the water inside to flow out. He uses a third of the water to create a small ball, sending it flying towards Keith, effectively dousing the flames around his body. Keith hisses at the sudden cold water but before he can call his flames back, Lance is tackling him to the ground. The grass around the two burns as they roll around, each trying to pin the other down. The Water wizard calls forth the water from the sack, his eyes shining a brilliant blue as the water forms into small darts. Keith’s eyes blaze a darker scarlet, evaporating the water darts before Lance can throw them. Lance’s back collides painfully with the burnt grass as he glares up at Keith whom had already evaporated the last of his water. Keith quite literally has steam coming off of him, his body burning Lance wherever they touched. Lance knew this is bad, he’s basically defenseless underneath Keith. Though this doesn’t stop him, hardly. Keith is mildly surprised to have to dodge a fist that nicks his cheek with a sharp knuckle. Lance shuffles his legs, managing to pull his knee to his chest to dig it into Keith’s gut. The other growls down at Lance with a deadly look in his eyes. Keith raises his hand, an enormous fireball forming against his palm. Lance’s face pales, wiggling around and trying to get some leverage to stop Keith. He throws another weak punch that’s easily caught in Keith’s free hand. The Water wizard’s hand burns in Keith’s fist, and he tries yanking it away from the other’s touch, but that only makes Keith grip the small fist tighter. Lance tries his hardest not to stare at the fire, knowing that he’d go into shock and will surely die. 

Keith’s body freezes, the fire in his palm slowly dissipating. He seems confused for only a few seconds before hearing the crunch of burnt grass. He manages to turn his head to glare daggers at Shiro. The older man seems out of breath, a little annoyed. The Fire wizard growls at him, baring his teeth like an angry dog. Shiro waves his hands around in a few motions and suddenly both Lance and Keith feel this uncomfortable pull towards each other. They both send questioning looks to the other and Shiro.

“You two are now tied together. You cannot be further than six feet apart.”

“What!?” Lance screeches, pushing his knee further into Keith’s gut, throwing the other off him. 

“Six feet!? Shiro I can’t stand this guy. I’ll kill him in less than an hour!” Keith argues, glaring at Lance as he picks himself up from the ground. He takes a few steps away from the other, intending to sprint away, but all the sudden he starts feeling queasy. Lance feels the same, looking almost green in the face at the distance between them. They both take tiny steps back towards each other and feel almost immediately relieved, before glancing at the other with confused stares.

“If that happens, I’ll attach you to Allura,” Shiro says, furrowing his brows at the younger wizards’ actions. Keith’s mouth gapes open, turning his attention back to the older wizard.

“You wouldn’t dare.” The older male raises a brow.

“Oh but I would. And now whether you like it or not, the both of you will be training together 24/7. I suggest you start getting along.” 

“Uh, he’s not coming home with me,” Lance states, jabbing a finger in Keith’s direction.

“I know. We have a room prepared for the both of you in Altea. I can’t have a Fire wizard living in Unda anyways.”

“No. No. No. No. Hard pass. I am not sleeping in the same room as that... that thing!” Keith throws his hands in the air. Lance gasps, turning to Keith with a heated stare.

“Who you callin’ a thing, Mullet head?” Lance takes a menacing step towards Keith, his arms crossed over his chest. Keith takes a step towards Lance, hands defiantly on his hips.

“I dare you to say that one more time, waterweed.”

“Ya quisieras, I’ll have you know -”

“Enough!” Both boys jump at Shiro’s booming voice. They turn their attention to the older man who is rubbing his temples. “You two are seriously worse than an old married couple.” 

“Are you kidding me?” Lance gasps.

“Shiro we’re not like an old married couple.”

“I’d never want to be married to something like him.” Keith jabs a finger at Lance’s chest. 

“Who said I’d wanna be married to you!? I’d rather get eaten by a Basilisk.” Shiro groans, his eyes flashing red. The two wizard’s shadows are pulled causing them to crash into each other. _ Serves them right. _

* * *

 

Shiro leads the arguing ‘couple’ through the halls of Altea towards where they had a room already prepared for both boys. He figures Allura would have talked to Pidge and Hunk about their new training schedule. There also is the possibility Allura is talking to Pidge about Matt, he hopes that isn’t the case. Shiro finally stops in front of a door, marked with smears of red and blue paint. The metal door slides open to reveal a rather large room with massive tinted blue windows lining the wall opposite of them. There’s two sizable wardrobes pushed together on the wall to the right next to two small wooden desks. One side of the room is completely bare besides a closed door, which leads to a bathroom. Only problem, there’s one bed, one king sized bed sitting in front of the windows. Keith glares heatedly at Shiro, his eyes burning scarlet.

“There’s only one bed!” Keith hisses, Lance takes a step back from the Fire wizard. He is pissed and little mortified, however at least he isn’t almost alight in flames.

“Yes? Is there a problem?” Shiro asks innocently, raising a brow. Keith is quite literally fuming. 

“I refuse to sleep in the same bed with another wizard! Especially one as infuriating as him!” Keith jerks a finger at Lance. The Water wizard gasps, resting a hand over his heart looking offended. 

“I am far from infuriating!” Lance defends quickly. Shiro quickly stops the two from bickering with his voice.

“No matter. Get your rest because tomorrow you two will start your training together.” 

Both boy shout at the same time; “Training!?”

“The two of you will learn to find a balance between your powers. The both of you need to work on your teamwork, and the faster you learn, the faster I’ll untie your shadows,” Shiro slowly explains. 

“What about  _ my _ team? Pidge and Hunk.”

“They will have a whole new training schedule due to you being absent. They shall strengthen their bond while you should strengthen yours with Keith here. The longer you two take to work together, the longer you will be tied to each other.” Lance and Keith let the words sink in. They’re going to be tied together forever. 

Shiro leaves them to go see Allura for an update, and possibly a scolding. He heads to the throne room first, though finds no one there. He only finds the remains of soot from where Keith decided to cage Allura and the three young wizards. He then heads the familiar route to Allura’s room. He knocks first before the sliding door opens, revealing Allura sipping on tea. Shiro tenses at seeing Pidge sitting across the small table looking out of place. He debates a quick retreat but Allura had already noticed him, he can’t leave now. Pidge watches Shiro stride over and take a seat at the table with an uneasy expression. Her staff stands next to hear, leaning up against the table. She’s tempted to grab it and shove it in the older man’s face.

“I was just explaining to Pidge that you might have some information about her brother, Matt,” Allura says while gesturing her head towards the Earth wizard. 

“Information you’ve decided not to tell me after learning my name. I thought you started acting differently once seeing me,” Pidge states with an angry look. Shiro returns her glare with a guilty one, looking down at the small cup of tea Allura poured for him.

“I’m sorry Pidge... I just-” Shiro sighs, cupping his hands around the tea cup. “It’s hard for me to talk about Matt. I was there when he came into the prison. We shared a cell... we became good friends. Matt helped me control my new set of powers, even though I almost burned him a few times.” Pidge holds her breath, less angry at Shiro now and more anxious to hear his story. “While we were together, the guards were whispering about Zarkon wanting to try experimenting more on different marks. I guess tampering with mine wasn’t enough. That’s why he has been capturing people from Alfur academy. A few days after obtaining the information, a guard came by the cell. He gave Matt and I weapons and magic stones. Apparently, within Zarkon’s ranks, there were a few whom wanted to revolt for a long held grudge from being banished." 

"The revolt happened a few weeks later. It was chaos. Fellow prisoners and Galra alike started dropping like flies. We were being, or trying to be, led out of a hole blasted into one of the walls. But... one of Matt’s legs caught on fire. I tried putting out the flames but they just wouldn’t burn out. Galra reinforcements were coming, and Matt kept yelling at me to run. To leave and survive. So, I did...” Shiro dares to peek at Pidge, whom is currently trying to hold in her tears. She is visibly struggling, her body shaking and her eyes glossy. “I’m sorry Pidge. I have hope your brother is still alive. He is a good man. He talked about you constantly. He said if one of us ever escaped, to let you know that he loves you.” After hearing this, Pidge couldn’t hold it in anymore. She immediately breaks down crying, an ugly sobbing that racks her body and fills the room with her cries. Shiro stands and goes over to pull Pidge into his embrace, holding her tightly as she sobs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. This probably isn't the best chapter that I've written, but I did want to post something. I will try to not take months and months to post another chapter. More Klance in the next chapter ^~^


	7. Dibs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of you think that I abandoned this fic, but I can promise you I haven't. It's just been hard for me to write, or do anything really. I've just been a bed potato for these past... 8 months? That is... until I read @Jasparrow's comment. It really uplifted me and I'm very grateful. To be honest I saw it and broke down crying (happy tears of course). But it wasn't just to that comment but everyone's. I really appreciate all the support. Now, I know this is a short chapter but I already have the next couple written so the next update will be next week. Please hold on a little longer and stay with me. I can't promise anything for the next two chapters but I've been writing separate scenes here and there that I wanted to happen I just have to put them all together so they make sense. I love you all, very much, and I'm so appreciative of all the support and love. Until next chapter.
> 
>  
> 
> Loves~~~

Lance and Keith stand in front of the bed, both defiantly crossing their arms and glaring at the other. “I called dibs first,” the taller declares, sharply nodding his head as if to add emphasis to his point. 

“There’s only one bed, you can’t call dibs on it,” Keith hisses, watching the Water wizard jump onto the king sized mattress, spreading out to take up as much room as his lanky body can. Keith unconsciously finds himself moving closer to the bed, making sure they’re not too far apart. They hadn’t really tested the boundaries of the spell put on them, and neither of them really wanted to. 

“I can too! In fact, I just did.” 

Keith groans and rolls his eyes, huffing as his irises flash a bright red in annoyance. “I don’t think you understand how far we can’t go from each other. This weird binding spell effects both of us. I don’t want to do this as much as you, but sleeping in the same bed seems like the easiest option,” Keith explains slowly, watching the wheels turn in the Latino’s head. He’d rather face a Kappa with his bare hands than sleep in the same bed as Lance, but he is tired. He just wants to go to sleep. He wants to lay down and relax, think about ways to escape this crappy place that banished Zarkon unfairly. 

“Then move the couch over and I’ll sleep on the edge,” Lance states, earning a heated glare. 

“You know what? Fine! Sleeping on the couch sounds much better than having to share a bed with a stubborn water-headed wizard!” Keith stomps away from the other, his hands clenching as fire sparks in his palm. He tries smothering it by blowing smoke from his nose.

“I can’t believe you just -” His words are cut off by a massive wave of nausea and migraines. Keith’s legs wobble, feeling the same effect of getting too far from Lance, and he immediately regrets stomping away. He almost topples over with the sudden sickly feelings assaulting his systems and a pressure pushing against his chest. It feels as though he’s laying underneath a crumbling building that’s crushing his chest and making it hard for him to breath. “M-mullet. Come back, you’re to-too far. The s-stupid spell.” 

Keith takes a deep shaky breath, trying not to throw up at the same time. Slowly he turns on his heels, his world spinning. “I’m-I’m trying,” Keith gasps, taking a step towards the other. The two feel the nausea, migraines, and pressure lessen almost immediately. With that little more strength he gained back, the Fire wizard takes long slow strides until the two are in their restricted distance. 

“I hate Shiro,” Keith mumbles as he flops onto the bed next to the other, breathless. Lance finds himself nodding in agreement.

“For once Mullet, you’re right about something.” 

Keith turns his head against the sheets to glare at Lance, whacking him on the arm. The other flinches back, holding the spot that was hit close to his chest. “What do you mean, for once?” He snarls, his brows furrowing in anger. Lance rolls onto his side to face the Fire wizard, his arms crossing over his chest.  

“You heard me hothead,” he states matter-of-factly. The other lets his mouth drop open in disbelief, slowly sitting up as his eyes blaze a fiery red. 

“Why you -”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S. I know I know. It's super fucking short. Bare with me here. The next chapter will be longer.


	8. Get a Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like I promised here's another chapter! I tried adding onto it so it wasn't too too short, my best friend helped me and I give her credit for some of the best lines in this fic. I hope you guys like it, and I thank you for staying with me. Until next chapter!
> 
>  
> 
> Loves~~~~

Shiro looks between Lance and Keith, the latter looking disheveled and a walking shell of a wizard, yet the other well put together and semi-cherry. Both of the younger wizards also looked a bit charred and bruised from a brawl that went down the night before. It lasted for about an hour before Keith had given up. Lance was thankful for that, for he practically toppled onto the bed from exhaustion. They all stand in the throne room at what Keith deems to be an ungodly hour in the morning. Truthfully it is only seven in the morning, but it feels like two am to him. He blinks his eyes trying desperately to keep them open, his tolerance level extremely low, more so having to just stand by the other young wizard. He is already done with the other, not knowing how much more he can take of knowing _he’s_ there next to him.

“Did both of you sleep well?” Shiro asks.

“If Mr. Sunshine over here actually went to bed earlier, and didn’t try to kill me beforehand, then maybe he would be more awake and I could have gotten more beauty sleep.” Lance exclaims, gesturing wildly to Keith. He needed at least ten hours of sleep a night to feel okay during the day, and he needed at least an hour to get ready in the morning. But thanks to you-know-who, he barely got any sleep and couldn’t wake him up in the morning - he quite literally slept like the dead and didn’t move no matter what he tried.

The other’s mouth drops open in shock and irritation. Shiro simply facepalms. All he did was ask a simple, innocent, question. “Well excuse me, Mr. Diva! You had the whole damn bed to yourself whereas I had to move the couch, on my _own_ , and sleep on it. Which was extremely uncomfortable by the way.”

“I am not a diva!” Lance shouts, ignoring the rest of the sentence and stepping closer to Keith, his stone glowing a bright blue along with his eyes and marks.

“You are so too!” Keith’s eyes respond to Lance’s, turning a blood red. He stomps forward, standing a little straighter to look taller. Lance smirks a bit at seeing this, they both know who the taller one is. “And if you can’t see it then you’re just as stupid as you are infuriating!”

“Enough!” Shiro commands loudly, stepping between the two heated wizards that had managed to get a little too close in their fury. “You both need to cool it. You will get nowhere with your training if you continue to bicker like children!”

The two go silent, taking another step back from one another and turn their gazes to the floor. “Yes Shiro,” they say in unison.

Shiro racks a hand through his hair before clapping his hands together. He is going to have a long discussion with Allura about this “great decision” of her’s. If she shipped them so much, then she can train them. She can watch their relationship grow herself. If they actually got together Shiro would be genuinely surprised and never doubt Allura’s wizard-matching again.

“Alright. Let’s get started before I get more white hair.”

“But I think you would look absolutely dashing with more white hair, Shiro,” Lance flirts, giving his mentor the best smile he could. With a glare and a whack on the head, he crosses his arms and decides maybe kissing up to Shiro might not be a good idea.

Lance and Keith knew training together would be hard, seeing how their powers are completely different. It also doesn’t help that the two young wizards hate each other, and neither of them can work in a team dynamic. Instead of working together like they’re supposed to be trying to do, they try working separately. It is simple drills they are asked to do, just try weaving their elements together towards the dummy in front of them. This is just to see if their powers might actually work together, and if they could get them to. Hypothetically all elements should intertwine one way or another. Yet, the two only wanted to try their own spells, which in turn extinguished the other’s, causing them to get into more fights against each other. Shiro yells at them every time they begin to bicker, telling them to run the drill again and again. The elder even begins to yell at them if they even look at each other in a wrong way. He hasn’t even spent a day with the both of them and he can already tell the moment before the bickering begins. He certainly feels like a father constantly scolding his two sons. He hopes they can try training together - not seperately - and stop fighting each other, or at least somewhat in that direction. However, with being yelled at constantly and forced to work harder, it makes the younger wizard's more angry with each other, which makes them more aggressive and less willing to even think about working together.

Lance lets out an angry groan, frustration shaking his muscles, his teeth in a permanent grind as his eyes narrow. They had just ran through a drill, failed, and got yelled at by Shiro again. Keith mirrors his expression, steam quite literally puffing from his nose. They stood as far apart as they possibly could, Shiro off to the side no doubt watching their expressions. Lance swings his staff around his body, pointing it at the Fire wizard instead of the charred makeshift dummy. His eyes glint a bright blue as he swirls his glowing orb towards him. Keith watches closely as a slim body of water swirls around Lance, creating a snake like figure. It’s head turns towards Keith, glowing water eyes staring into his, floating motionless for a few seconds before launching at him. Keith spins his staff, cutting and jabbing at the water snake as it circles him. It is obviously solid but it is also water so no matter the hits he makes to it, it doesn’t affect it. Keith manages to keep it at an elbow’s length away from him, thinking it would come for a frontal attack, that or drown him. What he’s not expecting is a good amount of water to be dumped over his head, freezing cold water to be more precise. He can feel his skin heat from anger, and he can hear the sizzle of water as it evaporates into the air. He whips his now drenched face towards the Water wizard, looking through the body of the snake. Even though the other wizard’s body is blurry and disoriented, Keith can still tell he looks quite smug with himself.

The Fire wizard growls and lunges through the snake at the other - not realizing how thick the water was, which is weird saying but the water is certainly thicker and for a few seconds Keith thought he’d get trapped within it’s body - hearing a satisfying yelp of surprise as he tackles the stupid urchin to the ground. Lance’s staff is thrown from his grasp as the shorter wizard pins his hands underneath the boney knees, squeezing thunder thighs against his waist. He wriggles, his breath wheezing from the pain of his waist being crushed and the weight of the other. The latter might look small but he certainly didn’t feel it, he is heavy. Keith growls down at the slime, baring his teeth as his eyes flash a scarlet red. He clenches his fist and swings it at Lance’s face, connecting his hand with the other’s tan cheek. He’s only satisfied for a moment, watching the other’s lip split and his head snap to the side. He forms a fireball in his hand but halts when he feels his body freeze up, the fire dying in his palm. He glances out of the corner of his eyes to see Shiro, with a very stern look of disappointment and annoyance. However, the Water wizard takes the opportunity to flip the other over, trapping the slim pale wrists in his now free hands.

He can’t help but smirk down at the other, his eyes sparking a baby blue. “You know you look good underneath me.”

Keith blushes a dark red, wanting to burn those stupid eyelids off when Lance winks at him. He is thankful when Shiro comes over, grabbing the back of Lance’s poncho and pulling the two apart. “Alright enough. Finish this behind closed doors, please. Preferably somewhere far from me,” Shiro sighs, dropping Lance.

“Oh? _Closed doors?_ ” Lance purrs, obviously still feeling confident/flirty/whatever form of emotion he had when Keith was pinned beneath him. “Naughty.”

“Lance!” Shiro scolds, whacking the younger on the back of the head with a groan. Keith takes the opportunity to sweep his foot under the Water wizard, knocking a leg out and causing the other to fall to the ground.


End file.
